Chapter 38
I woke up with a start, my head pounding and my body bruised. When my eyes had become used to the dim light, I found that I was inside a cave, the smell of air was wet earth mixed with something threatening. I tried to get up, but my wrists and ankles were tied with chains that felt like they had strange energy. These chains weren’t normal; they were making me feel powerless and exposed.
The noise of approaching footsteps in the cave caught my attention. Ryder entered, flanked by his followers. My heart raced as I saw the items they carried: ancient artifacts and ingredients that reeked of dark magic. Whatever Ryder had planned, it couldn’t be good.
“Ah, Aurora,” Ryder’s voice dripped with false warmth. “So glad you’re awake.”
I tried to break free from the chains, but the chains just clinked without helping. “What are you planning, Ryder?” I spat, trying to mask my fear with defiance.
Ryder’s mouth twisted into a mean grin as he started to draw a complicated pattern around me. The shapes were strange to me, but they made me feel scared. “Oh, my dear Aurora,” he said, his tone dark and threatening. “I’m going to take what was meant to be mine, your powers.”
When I truly grasped what he was telling me, I felt a chill run through my body. Ryder intended to extract my unique balance of light and shadow powers. The very essence of who I was.
“You’re insane,” I growled. “It won’t work. My powers are a part of me, not something you can just take!”
Ryder laughed, the sound echoing off the cavern walls. “We shall see about that.”
As Ryder finished drawing the circle, he started to speak in an ancient language I couldn’t understand. The words stayed in the air, feeling heavy and uncomfortable. Dark energy began to move around the cave, making the air hard to breathe.
All of a sudden, I felt a sharp pulling inside me. Ryder was trying to take my powers, and it hurt a lot. I clenched my teeth, not wanting to let him hear me cry out.
In my panic, I looked around the cave for anything that could help me fight back. That’s when I noticed a tiny hole in the cave’s roof, showing the night sky. The full moon, big and bright, was right there.
I concentrated all my thoughts on that bit of moonlight, trying to connect with the moon, which has always given us strength. As I did this, I felt a warm feeling start to spread inside me, fighting against the cold, unwanted pull of Ryder’s ritual.
The moonlight seemed to intensify, casting a soft glow over me. I could see the frustration on Ryder’s face as his dark energy clashed with the pure, silvery light.
“No!” Ryder snarled, his composure cracking. He increased the intensity of his chanting, and the dark energy in the cave grew stronger, pressing in on me from all sides.
As the two forces fought inside and around me, I had quick glimpses of the past my pack, their faces showing determination and love; Xander, his eyes full of passion and protectiveness; our fights against Ryder and his supporters. These memories made me stronger, reminding me of what I was fighting for.
The conflicting energies made the cave shake. Small rocks and pieces of dirt started to fall from the ceiling, and I could see Ryder’s rogues looking worried at each other. This wasn’t what they had expected the ritual to be like.
I felt my powers changing a lot inside me, reacting to the fight of energies. Flashes of light and darkness burst all over the cave, making a wild light show that showed the battle happening inside me.
Ryder, his face contorted with determination and rage, pressed on with the ritual. He seemed oblivious to the dangers of the unstable energies swirling around us, focused solely on his goal of claiming my powers for himself.
As the ritual reached its peak, I felt the enchanted chains binding me begin to crack. The strain of containing my fluctuating powers was proving too much for them. Hope surged within me if I could break free, I might have a chance to fight back.
Just then, a sound cut through the chaos of the ritual howls, distant but unmistakable. My pack! They came for me, just as I had expected.
Ryder heard the howls too. His eyes widened with alarm before narrowing in anger. “Guard the entrance!” he barked at his followers. “Do not let them interfere!”
As Ryder’s attention was momentarily diverted, I redoubled my efforts to resist the ritual. The vortex of energy surrounding us intensified, my powers and Ryder’s dark magic creating a maelstrom of light and shadow.
For a moment, it seemed Ryder might succeed. The pull on my powers intensified, and I felt as though I was being torn apart from the inside. But then, with a final surge of resistance fueled by thoughts of my pack and the strength of the moon above, my chains shattered.
The burst of combined light and shadow energy that accompanied my release knocked Ryder off his feet. The ritual circle was broken, and chaos erupted in the cavern. Rocks fell from the ceiling as the ground shook violently beneath us.
I stood, free but weakened, facing Ryder as he scrambled to his feet. His face showed a mix of shock and anger when he understood that his well-thought-out plans had fallen apart.
“This isn’t over, Aurora,” he said angrily, his voice almost drowned out by the noise of the cave collapsing.
I was about to respond, but then everything around me started spinning. The effort of fighting against the ritual and the sudden use of my powers had worn me out. My vision became unclear, and I felt myself falling.
The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was Ryder’s face, showing both anger and planning in his eyes.
When I woke up, I was in a different room smaller, but just as heavy with tension. As my vision got better, I noticed I wasn’t alone. There, chained to the wall across from me, was the mysterious wolf we had been trying to save.
Our eyes met, and I saw a mix of hope and fear in his gaze. Despite being tired and still feeling the effects of Ryder’s unsuccessful ritual, I felt a strong determination rise within me. We were both prisoners now, but this wasn’t the end. Somehow, we would find a way out of this.